It is indispensable to keep watching rapid developments of the high-tech industry worldwide.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

No. 719: Successful development of a technology to green deserts and devastated lands with fibers (May 26, 2013)

Technology:

Toray developed a
technology to green deserts and devastated lands. With the help of special
fibers that resolve into water and carbon dioxide in 5-10 years, the technology
makes it easy to retail sol moisture. Special fibers that Toray developed
jointly with Mitsukawa in Fukui
Prefecture are processed
into tubulous forms10 cm in diameter and several tens of meters long, and they
are filled with soil and lined up at regular intervals. The water retentivity
of the fibers allows the surrounding soil to retain water. Even in an area where
sunshine is strong, it is possible to retain water for several days. Simple
irrigation facilities are enough to green deserts. The greening cost is estimated at
10,000-50,000 dollars per hectare.

Toray has been
conducting the experiment to green deserts in alliance with United Nations Development Programme. Soil improvement using water retention materials has not
spread easily, but an increasing number of developing countries invest in
greening lately to increase food production and improve environment. Toray
plans to sell the technology to South
Africa. According to the Ministry of Environment, the world market of the greening business was about 2,600 billion
yen in 2011.